Injury List – Round 1

Early prognosis

The Crows are in a pretty good position with only two players unavailable for their round one encounter with Sydney. Even if Doedee is cleared to play, he would need more training time given he didn’t play any of the Marsh Community Series in his return from a torn ACL. – Lee Gaskin

Early prognosis

Still no worries for the Lions. They’ll have a full list to pick from ahead of playing Hawthorn at the MCG on Sunday. – Michael Whiting

Early prognosis

The Blues’ forward line is looking lean, with Betts likely to miss the first month of the season after straining his calf at training over the weekend. McKay will miss round one due to an ongoing groin complaint, while Curnow‘s timeline remains unclear after dual knee setbacks. Marchbank is still dealing with bone bruising to his knee and won’t play the season-opener, while Petrevski-Setonwill have to prove his fitness after playing only a half in a VFL practice match a fortnight ago as he recovers from a quad issue. Plowman should be OK, having rolled his ankle in the second round of pre-season games. – Riley Beveridge

Early prognosis

Skipper Pendlebury is odds-on to lead the Magpies in the round one clash with the Western Bulldogs on Friday after tests cleared him of the coronavirus. Adams pulled up sore in the final hitout in the Marsh Community Series against St Kilda and Stephenson suffered a bruised left hand in a VFL practice match on Saturday but the club says both will be available for selection. Treloarwill miss at least the season-opener and Reid could also be in doubt. Scharenberg came off second-best in a marking contest at training on Friday but escaped with a bruised left hip that wouldn’t stop him from playing in the off-chance he received a call-up. Varcoe is close to rejoining the main group after a shoulder reconstruction and Langdon is back running, albeit very lightly, as he deals with a potentially career-threatening knee issue. Greenwood seems determined to smash the traditional 12-month recovery timeframe for a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament, while the Woods will also be conservative with Dunn in his bid to return from a second knee reconstruction. Meanwhile, Beams is reportedly set to retire. – Ben Collins

Early prognosis

Essendon has had some better news on the injury front if round one does go ahead, with Zaharakis, Bellchambers, Hibberd and Stewart all available for selection. Jake Stringer and Conor McKenna are also ready to play against the Dockers. The club can’t put a timeline on Heppell’sreturn from his foot injury, but Hooker is closing in on getting back after surgery on his hip. – Callum Twomey

Early prognosis

The Dockers have fast-tracked their expected returns for David Mundy, Alex Pearce and Nathan Wilson just a week after estimating they won’t be available until round four or five. They are being conservative with Stefan Giro, however, after the midfielder spent time with the main training group. The Dockers confirmed on Tuesday Hayden Young had experienced quad tightness, resulting in his training load being managed. James Aish and Luke Ryan need to pass fitness tests after being withdrawn from the second Marsh Community Series match. – Nathan Schmook

Early prognosis

Selwood got through match simulation unscathed on Saturday and now it will be a matter for the match committee to determine whether he’s done the required work. Duncan played minutes in last Friday’s VFL scratch match against Werribee but still has hoops to jump through after a heavily interrupted summer. Kreuger will ramp up his training, while a decision will have to be made on Kolodjashnij in coming weeks now there’s no VFL. – Mitch Cleary

Early prognosis

Plenty of question marks for the Suns, but captain Witts is certain to play after a couple of weeks of strong running following his broken foot. Harbrow is a big concern and might come up just short, while Rankine will be available and is expected to play. – Michael Whiting

Early prognosis

All eyes will be on star defender Williams ahead of the Geelong clash, after he missed the Marsh Community Series. He’s been training and should be fit to play, the Giants will just need to decide if he needs some more work on the track to make sure he’s ready for full games at match intensity. – Adam Curley

Early prognosis

Gunston ramped up his training involvement last week and took part in internal match simulation on Friday, so he looks on track to appear in round one after pre-Christmas ankle surgery. Lewis, O’Brien – who also sat out the Hawks’ Marsh Community Series finale – and Harry Morrison were among those who didn’t play, with the former looking the biggest outsider of that trio to be available. Howe competed in the scratch match but limped off early with another foot issue and will undergo surgery. Mathew Walker is also injured but the club is yet to say what his issue is, following a similar trend with players who aren’t senior regulars. Impey continues to increase his running loads in his recovery from a knee reconstruction last year. – Marc McGowan

Early prognosis

The club has been optimistic Salem will be available for round one but a recent bout of glandular fever has him in doubt. Sam Weideman should be available after rolling his ankle in the second Marsh Community Series game. Max Gawn and Steven May have declared themselves starters after pre-season knee injuries. The long game continues for Bennell after another calf strain while Joel Smith has had an interrupted summer and mystery surrounds what’s been troubling him following an infected foot over the New Year period. – Jennifer Phelan

Early prognosis

Brown looks to have won his race to be fit from a calf injury he sustained in mid-February and needs only to come through the Roos’ training session on Thursday. He won’t have played a pre-season game before running out for Sunday’s clash with St Kilda. Captain Jack Ziebell (calf) played two-and-a-half quarters in North Melbourne’s VFL practice match against Collingwood on Saturday and is also set to go for the AFL side’s season-opener. – Marc McGowan

Early prognosis

Dixon and Lycett need to get through the club’s final training session this week to be cleared for Saturday night’s clash with Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium. Wines is expected to be available to play in a month, however he would need a couple of weeks of training and match simulation before being ready to play in the AFL side. – Lee Gaskin

Early prognosis

Graham, McIntosh and Nankervis were expected to play in a VFL practice match on Friday before it was cancelled because of COVID-19 precautions. They’re back training but are somewhat in limbo after limited pre-seasons and it appears unlikely any of them will be ready for Thursday night. Houliwill miss with the calf he strained at training on Tuesday and will have scans to determine the severity. – Jennifer Phelan

Early prognosis

Geary needed surgery to repair what the club called a “minor” facial injury, sustained against Collingwood in the second Marsh game. He’s expected to be available for selection for the season-opener against North Melbourne. Dylan Roberton looks to have ticked all the boxes to put his hand up for round one but Jimmy Webster‘s limited pre-season means he might struggle to get to the line. – Jennifer Phelan

Early prognosis

Franklin won’t face the Crows and has already been ruled out of round two when the Swans take on Essendon at the SCG. A round three clash against Gold Coast on the road might be his target. Reid is back in full training, but he also won’t make the trip to Adelaide. Both key forwards need more training in the legs before they’re considered for a return. – Adam Curley

Early prognosis

Allen was part of the ‘A’ team during Friday’s match simulation and is now looking likely to play in round one. Darling was best on track in that session, according to Luke Shuey, and also looks set for the season-opener. Cameron is expected to miss up to eight weeks with the pubic bone stress injury that has hampered him previously. Cole‘s fractured thumb is a medium-term concern, but the defender will be able to maintain fitness during his rehab. – Nathan Schmook

Early prognosis

Naughton and Dickson have ramped up their running and are in the frame for a round one return. Liberatore is also tracking well from his knee injury. – Jourdan Canil

*Placed on the club’s long-term injury list

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